Town of Halifax, Vermont
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES- DRAFT
March 21, 2013
Call to Order
This meeting was rescheduled from March 19, 2013 due to bad weather. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM at the town office. Board members in attendance were Edee Edwards, Earl Holtz, and Lewis Sumner. Others in attendance were Jessica Bruno, Margo Avakian, Brad Rafus, Ray Combs, Len Derby, Ross Barnett, John LaFlamme, Keith Stone, Vicki Stone, Kaitlin Stone, Michael Fournier, Ben Barnett, and Cara Cheyette
Approval of Minutes
Sumner made a motion to accept the minutes of the February 13, 2013 special meeting as written. Edwards amended to add “at Halifax EOC” Holtz seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
Edwards made a motion to accept the minutes of the February 19, 2013 regular meeting as written. Sumner seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
Edwards made a motion to accept the minutes of the February 26, 2013 special meeting as written. Holtz seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
Edwards made a motion to accept the minutes of the March 5, 2013 regular meeting as amended. Holtz seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
Edwards made a motion to accept the minutes of the March 6, 2013 special meeting as amended. Holtz seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
Edwards made a motion to accept the minutes of the March 14, 2013 regular meeting as written. Holtz seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
Holtz made a motion to accept the minutes of the March 18, 2013 regular meeting as amended. Edwards seconded the motion, which passed 2-0-1 (Sumner abstained).
New Business
Position Appointments
Edwards noted that there was a letter found in the Selectboard mail on March 18th, which was not dated. The person did not state the position they were interested in. In the future, candidates need to specify which position they are interested in.
Selectboard Secretary
Sumner made a motion to nominate Jessica Bruno for the position of Selectboard Secretary for a one-year term expiring in 2014. Edwards seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
Halifax Planning Commission (2)
Edwards expressed that because the planning commission has a busy year ahead, they should make the appointments of people who have definitely expressed interest. If the Planning Commission has difficulties in reaching a quorum and people on the Planning Commission cannot commit the time, the Selectboard needs to take action.
Edwards made a motion to nominate Mark Gunkel and Sirean LaFlamme for the Halifax Planning Commission for a four-year term expiring in 2017. Holtz seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
Zoning Board of Adjustment (2)
Edwards made a motion to nominate Mark Gunkeland and Sirean LaFlamme for the Zoning Board of Adjustment for a four-year term expiring in 2017. Holtz seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
Road Commissioner
Edwards made a motion to nominate Bradley Rafus for the position of Road Commissioner for a one-year term expiring in 2014. Holtz seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
Tree Warden
Holtz made a motion to nominate Mark Gunkel for the position of Tree Warden for a one-year term expiring in 2014. Edwards seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
Pound keeper
Edwards noted that the name of this position shall now be called Animal Control Officer.
Sumner made a motion to nominate Leonard Derby for the position of Animal Control Officer for a one-year term expiring in 2014. Edwards seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
Town Service Officer
Sumner made a motion to nominate William Pusey, Jr. for the position of Town Service Officer for a one-year term expiring in 2014. Holtz seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
Representative to Council on Aging
Edwards made a motion to nominate Joan Courser for the position of Representative to Council on Aging for a one-year term expiring in 2014. Sumner seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
Windham Regional Commissioners (2)
Edwards made a motion to nominate Nick Bartenhagen and Maggie Bartenhagen for the position of Windham Regional Commissioners for a one-year term expiring in 2014. Holtz seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
Windham Solid Waste Management Representatives (2)
Edwards made a motion to nominate Cliff Inman and Lewis Sumner for the position of Windham Solid Waste Management Representatives for a one-year term expiring in 2014. Holtz seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
Loan Review Committee (2)
Sumner made a motion to nominate Allan Dacey and Andrew Rice for the position of Loan Review Committee members for a one-year term expiring in 2014. Edwards seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
ADA Coordinator
Sumner made a motion to nominate Everett Wilson for the position of ADA Coordinator for a one-year term expiring in 2014. Edwards seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
Rescue, Inc. Representative
Edwards made a motion to nominate Cara Cheyette for the position of Rescue, Inc. Representative for a one-year term expiring in 2014. Holtz seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
E-911 Coordinator
It was noted that the Board still needs to know who implements and coordinates the reverse 911 system.
Sumner made a motion to nominate Wayne Courser for the position of E-911 Coordinator for a one-year term expiring in 2014. Holtz seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
Recycling Coordinator
Keith Stone noted that this person will need to monitor what is being put in the bins. He noted that a lot of tires, paint, car parts, electronics etc are getting dumped there and the highway department winds up paying to remove it.
Edwards made a motion to nominate Lewis Sumner for the position of Recycling Coordinator for a one-year term expiring in 2014. Holtz seconded the motion, which passed 2-0-1 (Sumner abstained).
Green-up Vermont, Inc.
Sumner made a motion to nominate Tara Lee Lane for the position of Green-up Vermont, Inc. Coordinator for a one-year term expiring in 2014. Holtz seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
Emergency Management Directors
Holtz made a motion to nominate Ross Barnett and John LaFlamme for the position of Co-Emergency Management Directors for a one-year term expiring in 2014. Edwards seconded the motion. After the discussions below the motion passed, 2-0-1 (Sumner abstained).
Edwards expressed that a lot of people love the town and appreciate the services of Lewis Sumner who did the job for many years. There is a lot of additional work for this role and every person that applied had great strengths and a few weaknesses. She thought about this decision a lot and it was not easy.
Holtz also added that it was not an easy decision. Last year they chose the best people for the work involved, He sees motivation and skill sets in the people he nominated to get the work done in the timeframes it needs to be completed. The work list is significant.
Edwards expressed that both candidates have ICS training and expressed additional interest in taking more courses. Edwards asked both candidates to speak up if they felt splitting the work fairly would be an issue. Both candidates expressed that they did not feel that would be an issue.
There was a brief discussion about Co-EMD’s versus a single EMD and appointing people from town. Edwards talked about the difficulty in accepting that new skill sets may be needed to evolve, but she added that we need to help get people better prepared for the next disaster, and their duty is to look at what’s best for the town. Holtz and Edwards thanked Sumner for his many years of service.
Health Officer
It was noted that Sue Kelly was appointed last year for a three-year term, so her term will expire in 2015. Bruno will ask Patty to update the book.
Citation Ticket Responsibility
Edwards made a motion to nominate Leonard Derby for the position of Citation Ticket Responsibility for a one-year term expiring in 2014. Holtz seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
Energy Conservation Officer
Edwards made a motion to nominate Tristan Roberts for the position of Energy Conservation Officer for a one-year term expiring in 2014. Holtz seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
Newspapers of Record
Poll results showed that Deerfield Valley News and the Brattleboro Reformer are the primary newspaper sources used by the townspeople in Halifax. The Board discussed concerns such as billing issues with the Reformer and discussed issues that may arise as Deerfield Valley News is a weekly paper.
Edwards made a motion to site The Brattleboro Reformer and Deerfield Valley News as Newspapers of Record. Holtz seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
Selectman’s Meeting Dates
Edwards asked the Board to consider moving the Second Tuesday meeting to the third Thursday, and/or also consider having a weekly meeting on Monday afternoons.
Sumner made a motion to keep the Selectboard meetings bi-monthly on the first and third Tuesday of the month at 6:30pm. Holtz seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
WASI Joint Meeting and Facilitation
Edwards noted that there will be a meeting on April 1, 2013 in Jacksonville to discuss ambulance service options for Halifax and Whitingham and the future of WASI. She feels it’s important to have trust and confidence in the process of how we will proceed to get ambulance service. She’s confident that we will have service, but wants to have a good plan and path going forward. She’s drafted a letter to the Whitingham Selectboard asking them to consider getting an independent facilitator for the meeting. She is asking to have all key players at the table, outlining our shared goals and individual concerns, and to issue a joint press release to ease concerns. Sumner suggested that it might be best to hire a facilitator that is neither a resident of Halifax or Whitingham.
Holtz made a motion to e-mail the letter to the Whitingham Selectboard regarding the joint meeting on April 1, 2013. Edwards seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
Highway Codes and Standards
It was noted that if the new state standards are adopted, the town will be eligible for a higher percentage of State share (State approved and FEMA approved dollars).
Holtz made a motion to adopt the January 2013 town road and bridge standards as outlined by the State of Vermont. Sumner seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
Town Truck Ride Along Policy
Holtz drafted a procedure based on Wilmington’s police department policy (which was not available at this meeting). The procedure would involve signing a waiver, which would need to be approved by Rafus. The riders would have to be 16 or older (16-17 need parent or guardian signature and 18 or older can sign for themselves). In the event of a reason to terminate the ride, it’s up to the road crew to get the rider back to the town garage. Riders are also not allowed to operate equipment. Several road crew members, and family members of the road crew, expressed that rides generally only happen when they’re working 16-17 hour shifts. They get tired, and it’s nice to be able to talk to people to help keep them awake. Cheyette noted that the policy needs to be reasonable and responsible and we need to use common sense when determining how the policy will be implemented. Holtz will send the draft policy to the road crew and other interested parties. The policy will be discussed again at a future meeting.
Internet Service at Town Office
Holtz reported that the town office should be able to get DSL from Fairpoint 768 kbps compared to satellite 500 kbps. We now pay $50 for phone plus the cost of long distance calls. This two year package would be $50/mo for phone including long distance and internet. Edwards would like to know the cancellation policy/fee as we should be getting better wireless by the end of 2013. Edwards also noted that the Listers would like a second phone line. She would like to try getting the Internet first, and then see what it would take to get a second line. Can they add voice mail that will pick up if the line is busy? She also noted that they might want to consider getting a better speakerphone for the town office as it may become more common for people to call in.
Old Business
Hearing of Visitors
Len Derby discussed a bill that was received from the Windham County Humane Society. Someone from Halifax took a dog to the Humane Society and said it was a stray. Derby has solid evidence that these people obtained the dog from someone in Manchester, VT on Craigslist. Derby is working on getting a letter from the prior owner (from Manchester) noting the events that occurred and who he gave the dog to. The dog attacked a person at the humane society and had to be euthanized. Now Halifax is being billed for boarding and euthanization of the dog as it was brought in as a stray. Derby will bring the letter in from the prior owner when it is received. This issue will be brought up under old business in a future meeting.
Rafus needed that the Selectboard needs to move forward on the roof for the town garage as it’s getting a lot worse. They also need to put the truck bid on the next agenda.
Keith Stone asked the Selectboard to talk to the town about keeping snow out of the roadways. People are plowing their driveways and leaving the snow in the town road and it’s freezing overnight and causing damage to equipment. Bruno will post a notice on the website.
Other Business
Edwards made a motion that in recognition of the Selectboard Secretary’s efforts, a one time payment of $200 for the current year, and an annual salary increase to $2000 for the coming fiscal year, both as budgeted, be made for the extra effort that has been put into the town website. Holtz seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
The Selectboard discussed contact points for SVE and Holden Engineering. Edwards will follow up with John Alexander and Holden Engineering. Holtz will be SVE’s contact for Hale Road, and Sumner will be SVE’s contact for Deer Park.
Holtz found the state rule for snowplowing into roadways in the Hanbook for Local Officials.
Communications/Mail
The mail was reviewed and appropriately filed.
Selectmen’s Order to Town Treasurer for bill payment
The order for payment of bills was completed and signed.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Jessica Bruno
Selectboard Secretary